Enhancing Communication Through Sensory Preferences

During interactions, have you noticed whether you or someone else says “I see,” “I hear you,” or “I feel”? This seemingly minor observation can reveal a lot about a person’s preferred sensory mode. People tend to engage with the world through one or two sensory preferences. When under significant stress, people tend to rely even more strongly on their preferred sensory mode. This is particularly evident in medical settings. By recognizing a patient’s sensory preference early on and tailoring your communication accordingly, you can establish rapport and foster a greater sense of understanding.

If a conversation isn’t going smoothly, it could be due to individuals’ differing sensory preferences, especially if they are stressed and attached to their own ways of perceiving the world. Therefore, paying close attention to your communication partner’s word choice and adjusting your language to match his or her preferred sensory terms can be very helpful.

For quick reference, here is a list of terms for each sensory mode:

• Visual: appear, bright, dark, focus, picture, envision, view, watch, pretty
• Auditory: argue, call, describe, hear, listen, silent, tell, sound, quiet, ring
• Kinesthetic: connect, cut, grab, grasp, handle, hold, pressure, smooth, feel
• Olfactory: breathe, inhale, odor, smell, stink, whiff, fragrant, stuffy
• Gustatory: bite, delicious, flavor, sweet, taste, tongue, juicy, sweet, yummy

Your response to statements anchored in each sensory category could be:

• Visual: “I see…”, “That looks like…”, “Brilliant”
• Auditory: “If I were to tell you…”, “As you say…”, “I hear you…”
• Kinesthetic: “That feels right …”, “I will do everything to make you feel more comfortable…”, “Sharing this is very helpful…”
• Gustatory & Olfactory: They fall in the kinesthetic category. Some additional options could be “Sweet” or “That sucks”

 

Here is quick exercise for you:

Someone tells you about their soon coming MRI scan: “I just feel like I am going to suffocate in that thing. Everything is just happening at the same time. I am being sent around from one appointment to the next and then I am getting buried in paperwork.”

Which is the sensory preference of this person, and what might you answer?

A. Visual

B. Auditory

C. Kinesthetic

D. Gustatory

E. Olfactory

 

Correct answer is C

 

The Comfort Talk_® training and our book “Patient Sedation Without Medication” offer further instructions on how to incorporate these techniques into medical practice.